Jaromir Jagr can relate to the flair with which Mats Sundin scored his 500th career NHL goal.

Sundin, if you recall, netted the milestone marker thanks to his third goal of the game, a short-handed overtime marker that gave the Leafs a 5-4 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames eight days ago.

"He scored his 500th to finish off a hat trick, and that's exactly the same way I did it," said Jagr, who accomplished the feat back on Feb. 4, 2003 as a member of the Washington Capitals.

Jagr and Sundin are among just four European-born players to reach the 500 mark, a small yet prestigious group that also includes Jari Kurri and Stan Mikita.

"He's such a great player," Jagr said of Sundin. "I always thought he was more of a set-up man than a goal scorer, yet he still scored 500. That's very impressive."

So is Jagr's start to the season.

A two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jagr notched a pair of assists against the Maple Leafs last night at the Air Canada Centre to up his point total in this young season to 13.

Jagr attributes some of his early-season success to the addition of former Red Wing Brendan Shanahan.

"That's what we needed -- some additional scoring on the power play," Jagr said. "It's helped the whole team."

The Big BOP-pers

The recent success of the Bates Battaglia-Ben Ondrus-John Pohl combination has observers kicking around a few nicknames for the unit.

The most fitting one through the early returns? The BOP Line.

How about it, Mr. Pohl?

"It would be great," he said. "You guys can pick whatever you want, really.

"It's kind of early for that, though. I think we need a couple of weeks to become a totally acronymed line."

The unit spent some time together with the Marlies under then-coach Paul Maurice last season.

"I don't know how much that has helped us at this level," Battaglia said.